Waking up the Sleeping Giant within!
As I hiked up a muddy and wet trail in East Kauai, I was amazed at how the vegetation changed from dense, evergreen, moss covered plant life to a more temperate and alpine meadow-esque wilderness. And with that came sweeping views of East Kauai and the Pacific Ocean. Behind me was the Sleeping Giant mountain, the name dating back to an interesting Hawaiian story.
As I took in the view of the land and the ocean, it occurred to me that there is a sleeping giant within all of us, waiting to be awakened from its slumber. And how appropriate that I had woken up the same day with this nagging feeling of not having done a hike during my stay at Kauai.
This was indeed the last day of my stay in Kauai and my only chance to leave Kauai without regrets.
Walking up the trail, filled with dense bushes at first and then slowly opening up to clearings here and there — I realized how much I loved hiking and the freshness of the morning air! It had been quite some time since my last hike and my zest for life seemed to have got a shot in the arm — Just like that! That got me thinking……
Who we are is much more than just our body, our personality and our day to day existence. We don’t really realize our potential, and how we can impact the world for the better until we actually take a shot at it. What can one person do is the common refrain!? It turns out — A lot! One person could bring America together when it was facing a lot of racial heat — Martin Luther King. One person showed that non-violent protests is actually a way to fight back and win back a country’s freedom — Mahatma Gandhi. One person in this day and age is demonstrating that love moves the world — That the vision of disease free body, stress free mind, inhibition free intellect, a trauma free memory and sorrow free soul can actually be made a reality for millions of people around the world TODAY — His Holiness, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
We may not reach the heights of Gandhi in this life time — However, we can strive to reach for 100% of our true potential — Who we really can be, as a force of positive change, if we put some serious attention to it.
And even in bringing our awareness to our true potential, we start to move in the direction of waking up the sleeping giant within us. It does help to have clarity in mind and sincerity in heart as we reflect on this — Something breathing and meditation can bring about with daily practice.
Giving our 100% paves the way for regret-free living. My wake up call on the last day of my stay at Kauai — to do this hike, moved me past the regret of not having done what I had come to Kauai for.
So at this point, I would like you to reflect on a couple of questions: What steps do you plan to take today, this week, this year to wake up the giant within you? What does this giant within look like? What personal goals do you plan to take up, challenge yourself with, in moving towards this vision of yourself?